Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

The average pay out was €6,200. In the part of the province of Ulster which does not come under our jurisdiction, the average pay out was €1,390 per farmer. Our scheme has been beneficial and, as the Deputy rightly pointed out, it is not just an income support. There are costs to the individual farmer arising from participating in the scheme. There are also benefits for the public good as well as the individual farmer. As Deputies Creed and Sherlock said, the scheme has brought good environmental benefits to the countryside. The farming community is the guardian of our countryside. Participation in REPS has offered a whole new approach to the protection, nurturing and cultivation of our environment. The new agri-environment measures that will be introduced will help that work considerably.

I appreciate the importance of REPS as an income to the farming community. It was not, however, a direct payment as substantial costs were incurred by every participant in the scheme to ensure that their farming practices were up to standard. The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food will administer the new scheme.

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